Scraping device

ABSTRACT

A scraping device includes at least two elongated scraping members and mounting means for connecting the members to a rotating drive means, such as an electric drill, which rotates the members to accomplish scraping. The members are each provided with an off center hole and the holes of the various members are aligned with one another and a portion of the mounting means projects therethrough. Each member has a long section to one side of the hole and a short section to the other side thereof. The members are disposed with the long section of one member opposite the short section of the next adjacent member, and vice versa.

[ 51 May 16, 1972 1 SCRAPING DEVICE Jack W. Whitsett, 936 Castile Avenue, Coral Gables, Fla. 33134 [22] Filed: Aug. 3, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 60,434

[72] Inventor:

[52] US. Cl ..l5/236, 15/179, 29/81 [51] Int. Cl. ..A47| 13/02, E04f21/1O [58] Field of Search ..l5/236, 179, 165, 246.5, 93,

15/180, 164; 259/D1G. 34, 103, 107; 29/81 G, 81 .1, 81 L; 241/296, 297, 298; 114/222; 144/219, 24; 77/75, 72, 71; 125/5, 3; 145/121, 125, 4.2; 30/169,

Cantrell ...15/93 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATlONS 1,326,209 3/1963 France 259/107 Primary Examiner-Leon G. Machlin ArlorneyRoylance, Abrams, Berdo and Kaul [57] ABSTRACT A scraping device includes at least two elongated scraping members and mounting means for connecting the members to a rotating drive means, such as an electric drill, which rotates the members to accomplish scraping, The members are each provided with an off center hole and the holes of the various members are aligned with one another and a portion of the mounting means projects therethrough. Each member has a long section to one side of the hole and a short section to the other side thereof. The members are disposed with the long section of one member opposite the short section of the next adjacent member, and vice versa.

6 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PAIENTEDMAY 16 I972 8; 662,424

SHEET 1 UF 2 I II, 5

WI INVENTOR JACK w. wunsm M,Mw,4, 74 BY 7[ 2 Hf? ATTORNEYS.

PATENTEDMAY 16 I972 SHEEI 2 OF 2 it H! INVENTOR JACK W. WHITSETT ATTORNEY5.

SCRAPING DEVICE This invention relates to a scraping device of the type which includes two or more scraping members and more particularly it relates to a simple form of scraping device which can be used effectively in conjunction with a rotating drive means, such as an electric drill.

It is, of course, desirable in many instances to provide some form of equipment for scraping surfaces to remove some type of surface coating therefrom. As an example, one might want to scrape a painted surface to remove the paint therefrom. Also, one might want to scrape a metallic surface to remove rust or scale therefrom. As other possibilities, one might want to scrape an underwater surface to remove marine growth therefrom, one might want to scrape walls to remove wallpaper or other wall coverings therefrom, and so on. It should therefore be apparent that since there are a variety of different surface coverings which might be removed by scraping, any form of scraping device should be versatile enough to be useful for these varying coatings and coating removal operations.

Various forms of surface scraping tools are known in the art, but such tools have not proved entirely satisfactory for all purposes and conditions. A common form of scraping tool is the manually operated kind which consists of one or more scraping blades and an operating handle. However, the problem with this form of scraping tool is that it requires a great deal of manual effort and a scraping operation with a tool of this type is often a tedious and arduous job. Another common form of surface scraper is the power operated sander, which ordinarily consists of a continuous abrasive belt driven by a power motor. The difficulty with this type of device, however, is that the belts need to be replaced frequently as the abrasive is worn therefrom, and furthermore, that the surface removing operation is really by a sanding or fritting nature, rather than of a scraping nature.

The present invention recognizes the shortcomings of known forms of scraping devices and has as its principal objective, the provision of a new and improved scraping device which overcomes such deficiencies and shortcomings.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a simple form of scraping device which is highly adaptable and versatile, yet which can be used with a minimum amount of manual effort.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a scraping device which can be used with a conventional rotating power supply, such as an electric drill so that the scraping device can be made available at reasonable cost to the average home-owner.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a safe, comfortable and efficient scraping device which can be adapted to accomplish a variety of different surface scraping operations.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a relatively inexpensive, yet durable form of surface scraping device which can be marketed without its own power supply, and which can be used with conventional existing rotating power supplies, such as electric drills.

Other objects, advantages and salient features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

The foregoing objects are attained by providing a basic combination of two separate parts, namely, scraping members and a mounting means therefore. The scraping members consist of at least two elongated members, disposed in parallel relationship, with each of the members having a scraping surface thereon. The mounting means includes means for maintaining the scraping members in their parallel position and for attaching the scraping members to a rotating drive means, such as an electric drill, which can rotate the scraping members so that their scraping surfaces rotate through a common plane.

More specifically, each of the scraping members is provided with an aperture which projects therethrough, the aperture being offset from the center of the scraping member toward one end thereof. The aperture can be aligned either with the axis of elongation, above the same or below the same, but in any event, it is offset from the center of the member toward one end thereof. This placement of the aperture necessarily means that each scraping member has a shorter section disposed to one side of the aperture and a longer section disposed to the other side of the aperture. The blades, as aforementioned, are aligned in parallel relationship and the apertures are maintained in alignment with each other. However, the position of adjacent scraping members is alternated so that a long section of one scraping member is adjacent a short section of the next scraping member, and vice versa, or in any combination of member assembly that is statically balanced. The mounting means includes an element which projects through the apertures of all of the blade members to connect the same together and to maintain the same in their aligned position. The mounting means also includes another portion, such as a shaft, which can be inserted into the chuck of an electric drill so that the entire assembly can be rotated. During such rotation, the blades maintain their parallel alignment and the scraping surfaces are thus moved circularly through a plane. When the scraping device is moved next to the surface to be scraped, so that the plane of the rotating scraping surfaces engages against the object to be scraped, the rotational movement causes the scraping to be accomplished.

Referring now to the drawings which form a part of this original disclosure:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a scraping device in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof taken along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1, but omitting the mounting means for purposes of illustration;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are exploded perspective views of alternate forms of mounting means which can be used in the scraping device of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a modified form of scraping member;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of another modified form of scraping member;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic elevational view of the scraping device of the present invention, in its different positions;

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the scraping device of the present invention and the manner of operation of the same; and

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the scraping device of the present invention, attached to a rotating drive means formed by an electric drill.

Referring now to the drawing in further details, a typical form of scraping device is shown in FIG. 1 and is generally designated 20. Such scraping device includes two scraping members generally designated 22 and a mounting means generally designated 24.

The scraping member of FIG. 1 includes a body section 26 which is elongated along an axis of elongation nominally designated 28. A scraping surface 30 is formed along one edge of the body section 26 which extends parallel or at least partially parallel to the axis of elongation 28. The opposite edge of the body section is designated 32 and the ends of the body section are designated 34 and 36 respectively. The midpoint of the body section 26 is designated 38, and this midpoint, of course, is the center of the axis of elongation 28 and is spaced equal distantly from the edges 30 and 32.

An aperture 40 is formed transversely through each body section 26 of the scraping member and in the usual instance the configuration of the aperture 40 is circular. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the aperture 40 is offset from the midpoint 38 toward the end 34 of the body section. Elevationally, the aperture 40 can be aligned with the axis of elongation 28 or it can be either above or below the same. However, in all events, the aperture 40 is disposed at some location between the end 34 of the body section and the midpoint 38 thereof. This creates a situation, as shown in FIG. 2, where from the center of the aperture 40, the scraping member is divided into a longer section X and a shorter section Y. The longer section X extends from the midpoint of the aperture 40 to the end 36 of the body section. Similarly, the shorter section Y extends from the midpoint of the aperture 40 to the end 34 of the body section. The sum of the lengths X plus Y equals the total length I.. of the scraping member 26, as shown in FIG. 2.

At least two scraping members 22 are provided in each embodiment of the invention. These two members are disposed in parallel juxtaposition, as can clearly be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2. Moreover the apertures 40 in each of the two scraping members are in alignment with one another along an axis 42 which forms the central axis of each aperture. However, the scraping members themselves are disposed with the longer and shorter sections being alternated so that the longer section X on one scraping member is disposed adjacent the shorter section Y on the next adjacent scraping member, and vice versa. Although only two scraping members are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, it is entirely within the contemplation of the present invention that any number of scraping members, in excess of two, may also be used. However, as many blades as are provided, the arrangement of such blades must still be alternated in the manner shown in FIG. 2, or in any combination where the scraping device is statically balanced.

The mounting means 24 can be of many different types, provided that it maintains the scraping members 22 in parallel juxtaposition while connecting said members to a rotating drive means which can rotate the members and particularly the scraping surfaces 30 thereof. The mounting means 24, as shown in FIG. 1, includes a projecting element 44 which extends through the aligned apertures 40, 40 of the two scraping members and which serve to maintain the scraping members in alignment. In other words, the projecting element 44 extends along the axis 42. In the mounting means of FIG. 1, the projecting portion 44 is formed integrally with a pair of upstanding side arms 46, 46 which merge together into a top portion 48. The members 44, 46, and 48 are formed more or less as a link and the side arms or members 46 serve to assure that the scraping members will remain more or less upright and in their parallel aligned juxtaposition. A connecting element in the form of a rod 50 extends from the upper surface 48 of the link so that the connecting means 24 can be connected to a suitable rotating drive means, such as an electric drill. As will be described presently, the connecting element 50 can be inserted into the chuck of an electric drill. The projecting element 44 is preferably of a circular cross-section which is slightly smaller than the cross-section of the apertures 40. This permits the projecting element to pass freely through the apertures of the spaced blade members while at the same time permitting such blade members to pivot slightly about the projecting element. If desired, a washer or other suitable spacer device can be mounted on the projecting element between the two scraping members 22, in order to further assure that such members will remain in spaced parallel alignment.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4 for modified forms of mounting means 24, it can be seen that the mounting means 24 of FIG. 3 includes a closed circular loop 52 mounted at the lower end of the connecting element 50. This loop 52 has an aperture or hole 54 formed therein of a size at least equal to that of the apertures 40. In use, this mounting means is disposed between a pair of scraping members and along the axis 42 of the apertures 40. The projecting element in this instance is formed by a screw 54 having a head 55 at one end thereof larger than the aperture 40. The screw extends along the axis 42 through both apertures 40 and through the hole 54, and a nut 56 threads onto the other. end of the screw to prevent the members from becoming disengaged. Thus, in the embodiment of FIG. 3, the connecting means is disposed entirely between the two scraping members.

In. FIG. 4, wherein the scraping members are omitted for purposes of illustration, the mounting means includes a forked portion having a pair of flat parallel legs 58, 58 extending downwardly from a generally U-shaped top 60 which carries the upstanding connecting element 50. The two flat legs 50 extend along the outside of the scraping members just as did the legs 46 in the embodiment of FIG. 1. Each leg is provided with a hole 62 formed therein and these holes 62 are aligned with the apertures 40 in the scraping members, such alignment occurring along the axis 42. Again, the screw 54 and nut 56 can be used to form the projecting element for connecting the mounting members. It can be noted from FIGS. 3 and 4 that linear connecting element is aligned along an axis 64 which forms the axis of rotation for the entire scraping device. Additionally, this axis 64 is perpendicular to the axis 42 along which the projecting element extends.

The scraping members of the present invention are customarily formed as a blade, such as that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. This blade can be of relatively rigid metallic material and the scraping edge 30 thereof can be sharpened, if desired, or alternatively, can be coated with an abrasive material such as silicon carbide, or cutting or abrading mountings can be made on the blade in any arrangement or means of attachment. However, it is not critical to the invention that the scraping members be in the nature of blades, and instead, by referring to FIG. 5, it can be seen that the scraping members 22 can be formed as a wire brush having a rigid backing 70 of metal or the like and having a plurality of wire or steel bristles 72 projecting therefrom. The ends 74 of these bristles form the scraping surface for a scraping member of this type. In order to mount a scraping member of the type shown in FIG. 2, a generally C-shaped plate 76 can be used. This plate is provided with a central aperture 78 disposed beneath the surface of the brush backing 70 so that a projecting element such as 44 or 54 can extend therethrough. Screws 80 can be used to attach the plate 76 to the backing 70.

In FIG. 6, the scraping member 22 is again of the blade type, but the scraping edge or surface 30 is angled, as shown at 82 in the direction of the end 36. This means, of course, that the longer section X of the blade is provided with a rounded or beveled tip, which proves particularly useful in removing paint from wood without gouging the wood. As can also be seen from FIG. 6, the aperture 40 as shown in solid lines, is actually aligned with the axis of elongation 28 of the blade. As an alternative, the aperture 40 can be as shown at 40, namely, located between the axis of elongation 28 and the top edge 32. As a further alternative, the aperture 40 can be as shown in dotted lines at 40", namely, located between the scraping edge 30 and the axis of elongation 28. Moreover, as has been previously mentioned, the section X and Y can never be of the same length, since section X must always be longer, and the exact proportion of these sections, with respect to one another, can be varied as desired. In one instance, the aperture 40 can be placed at a location along the blade so that the section X constitutes 60 percent of the blade length and the section Y constitutes the remaining 40 percent. As another alternative, the section X can be increased to 70 percent and the section Y can be decreased to 30 percent.

Referring now to FIG. 7, it can be seen that the scraping members 22 are free to pivot slightly out of their operational plane when the blades are not being rotated. This pivoting action can occur because the cross-sectional size of the apertures 40 exceeds the cross-sectional size of the projecting member 44 or 54 which passes therethrough and the amount of such pivoting action can be up to 30. However, once the rotating drive means starts the blade into rotation, such rotational movement will cause the scraping members or blades to move by centrifugal force into a planar relationship, as shown in phantom lines FIG. 7. Specifically, this will mean that the scraping surfaces or edges 30 will be aligned in a common plane and when such plane is moved into contact with a surface S to be scraped, the scraping action will occur.

By referring to FIG. 8, the action of the blades during rotation can be illustrated. Specifically, in the embodiment of FIG. 8, one must imagine the connecting member 50 being inserted into a rotating drive means, such as an electric drill which rotates in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 8 and which hence causes the blades to rotate in the same direction.

Because of the offset nature of the apertures and the blades, the efiective rotational scraping diameter covered by the scraper of the present invention exceeds the length L of an individual scraping blade or member 22. As is shown in dotted lines in FIG. 8, the driving means swings the blades through a circular path and as such circular movement of the blades is occurring, the scraping edges or surfaces 30 thereof are aligned in a common plane which is brought into contact with the surface S to be scraped.

In FIG. 9, one suitable form of drive means generally designated 90 is shown and this drive means can simply be in the nature of a conventional electric drill. Such a drill is provided with chuck 92 at the forward end thereof for receiving the connecting element 50 from the mounting means 24. Thus, when the electric drill 90 is energized, the entire scraping device 20 is set into rotation to accomplish the scraping action.

In a sense, it can be said that the scraping device 20 of the present invention embodies gyroscopic principles of inertia and precession. When the scraping blades are rotating at a high speed, such as 2,000 to 3,000 rpm, the tips of the blades have a resistance to being forced out of the plane of their rotation. Thus, when the axis of rotation is maintained perpendicular to the surface to be scraped so that the plane of the rotating blades is parallel to the surface being scraped, a highly efficient scraping action occurs. If the axis of rotation is slightly off from a perpendicular to the surface being scraped, then the plane of the rotating blades is at a slight angle to the plane of the surface being scraped which creates a combination scraping action and an impacting action. Specifically, this means that the blades resist the effect of the surface pressure which tends to push the blade tips out of the plane of their rotation and into a plane which would be parallel to the plane of the surface.

As aforementioned, the location of the aperture through the blades can be varied both length wise and height wise along the blades. If the aperture is above the center line as shown at 40 in FIG. 6, then the tips will retract slightly during rotation thus avoiding any circular gouges in wood or the like. The scraping action would thus be strictly a scraping action and there would be very little impacting action. On the other hand, when the aperture is below the center line as shown at 40" at FIG. 6, this forces the tips on the blade slightly outward, or downward if the blade is held in the orientation of FIG. 7, and this increases the impacting action and is highly effective for scraping masonry and other hard surfaces.

With the scraping device of the present invention, the operator is generally protected against flying material removed as a result of the scraping action. The material thus removed is thrown off to the sides by the high speed travel of the blades and is not directed rearwardly toward the operator. Thus, if the operator simply takes the electric drill 90 of FIG. 9 and holds the same with his arm extended forwardly, the material being discharged as a result of the scraping action will be thrown off to the sides and will not be thrown back toward the operator or his face.

Also, as previously mentioned, there is no limitation on the number of blades which can be used, not is there any limitation on the length of the blades, the sharpness of the blades, the hardness or abrasive characteristics thereof, or so on. Actually, there is not even any limitation on the shape of the blades or other scraping members to be used. Blades that are rounded toward the tips are ideal for removing paint from wood since they do not gouge or make circular marks if left unsharpened. Blades that are angled toward the tips are very effective for removing paint from grooves and are also quite beneficial for finishing boats. If it is felt that the strength or rigidity of the blades is insufiicient, structural shapes can be used in combination with the blades, such as by being welded thereto, to increase the strength and rigidity, and to minimize the possibility that the blades will deflect laterally during scra ing action.

er readlng the foregoing detailed description, it should be apparent that the objects set forth at the outset of the specification have been successfully achieved by the present invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A scraping device adapted for use in combination with a rotating drive means, said device comprising:

at least two axially elongated scraping members, each of which has a scraping surface thereon;

each of said scraping members having an aperture extending transversely therethrough;

said aperture in each member being ofiset from the midpoint of the axis of elongation to form a first longer section to one side of the center of said aperture and a second shorter section to the other side thereof;

said members being disposed in spaced parallel juxtaposition with the first section of one member being opposite the second section of the adjacent member, and vice versa, and with the apertures in said members being aligned with each other along an axis perpendicular to said axis of elongation;

mounting means for maintaining said members in said parallel juxtaposition while connecting said members to said rotating drive means for rotating said members;

said mounting means including a projecting element which extends through said aligned apertures and additional means cooperating with said projecting element to normally prevent said members from becoming removed therefrom;

said mounting means further including a connecting element for connecting said members to said drive means, said connecting element also being connected with said projecting element,

said mounting means maintaining said members so that a dihedral angle of more than but less than is formed between said longer sections when said drive means is not rotating,

said rotating drive means being operative to rotate said connecting element and hence to rotate said projecting element and said members about an axis of rotation to cause said members to move until said dihedral angle is substantially 180 and said scraping surfaces are coplanar, said device being operative to accomplish scraping by engaging said scraping surfaces against an object as said members rotate to thus cause said surfaces to scrape said object.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said axis of rotation is perpendicular to said axis of alignment of said apertures.

3. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said projecting element is cross-sectionally smaller than said apertures to permit at least partial pivoting of said members about said projecting element, while said members remain in parallel alignment with each other.

4. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said mounting means includes a portion which engages against the side of each member to maintain said members in said parallel alignment.

5. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said aperture in each member is aligned along the axis of elongation.

6. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said aperture in each member is spaced away from the axis of elongation. 

1. A scraping device adapted for use in combination with a rotating drive means, said device comprising: at least two axially elongated scraping members, each of which has a scraping surface thereon; each of said scraping members having an aperture extending transversely therethrough; said aperture in each member being offset from the midpoint of the axis of elongation to form a first longer section to one side of the center of said aperture and a second shorter section to the other side thereof; said members being disposed in spaced parallel juxtaposition with the first section of one member being opposite the second section of the adjacent member, and vice versa, and with the apertures in said members being aligned with each other along an axis perpendicular to said axis of elongation; mounting means for maintaining said members in said parallel juxtaposition while connecting said members to said rotating drive means for rotating said members; said mounting means including a projecting element which extends through said aligned apertures and additional means cooperating with said projecting element to normally prevent said members from becoming removed therefrom; said mounting means Further including a connecting element for connecting said members to said drive means, said connecting element also being connected with said projecting element, said mounting means maintaining said members so that a dihedral angle of more than 90* but less than 180* is formed between said longer sections when said drive means is not rotating, said rotating drive means being operative to rotate said connecting element and hence to rotate said projecting element and said members about an axis of rotation to cause said members to move until said dihedral angle is substantially 180* and said scraping surfaces are coplanar, said device being operative to accomplish scraping by engaging said scraping surfaces against an object as said members rotate to thus cause said surfaces to scrape said object.
 2. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said axis of rotation is perpendicular to said axis of alignment of said apertures.
 3. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said projecting element is cross-sectionally smaller than said apertures to permit at least partial pivoting of said members about said projecting element, while said members remain in parallel alignment with each other.
 4. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said mounting means includes a portion which engages against the side of each member to maintain said members in said parallel alignment.
 5. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said aperture in each member is aligned along the axis of elongation.
 6. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said aperture in each member is spaced away from the axis of elongation. 